Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024, Emma Oxford

PLAGIARISM

Happy Hump Day~!  Today's puzzle was relatively easy, but loaded with names; I find too many to be somewhat icky, and with two unknowns crossing, even more so.  And then there was the reveal - maybe I was digging too deep, but I just did not see the connection until "CLONE" popped out, and when I reviewed the other theme answers, I finally saw the 'hidden' synonyms for COPY, both verb and noun, at the RIGHT end.  Phew~! 

18. *Bureaucratic obstacle to environmental projects: GREEN TAPE (vb) - a playful take on the classic "red" tape of governmental hassles

24. *Extreme winter-weather event: BOMB CYCLONE (vb) - never heard of this phenomenon

40. *Nickname for a Mozart work in C major: JUPITER SYMPHONY (n) - name #1/2

49. *Writer of the 2023 legal thriller "The Exchange": JOHN GRISHAM (n) - name #1

61. Protection of intellectual property, and what the answer to each

      starred clue literally has: COPYRIGHT - parsed accordingly, COPY, RIGHT

EXIT, Stage LEFT

And Away We Go~!


ACROSS:

1. Mediterranean isle for which a style of pants is named: CAPRI

6. Periodic table's Pb: LEAD - from the Latin Plumbum, frequently used, in combination with other elements, to make organ pipes; due to its density and malleability, over the years, some pipes will actually 'sag'

Note how the pipe 'curves' towards the bottom

10. Female lobsters: HENS - I knew this, but it filled via perps - and - 16A. Lobster catcher: TRAP

14. Butcher's garment: APRON

15. Killer whale: ORCA - oddly, my 'spellcheck' doesn't like this word....

17. Takes hold: ROOTS - verb

20. Portuguese greeting: OLA

21. "Call Me by Your Name" name: ELIO - Even after I looked this one up, I don't recall anything about this movie; name #2, and a Natick

23. Declined, with "out": OPTED

28. Before, in verse: ERE

29. Dolly Parton hit: JOLENE - You'll excuse me if I don't provide a link to this one....name #3

33. Nonpoetic writing: PROSE

36. Phobia: FEAR - Gephyrophobia - do you know this one~?  ( Answer below * )

38. Daffy or Bugs: 'TOON

43. Pit: SEED - ah, that kind of pit

44. Tons: LOTS

45. Lather, __, repeat: RINSE

46. Aspirations: DREAMS

48. PC alternative: MAC

55. Tyler of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?": AISHA - I have seen the show, but I had no clue of the host's name, filled via perps - name #4

59. Cereal grain: OATS

60. Prefix with tourism: ECO

64. Boise's state: IDAHO - name~?

66. Couple of magazines?: ITEM - the juicy details of a romance between stars

67. Mayberry boy: OPIE - hey, I knew this one....name #5

68. When the sun rises in the west: NEVER - that'll be a cold day in hell....

69. Dishwashing brand used to clean animals after oil spills: DAWN - name~?

70. D.C. MLB team: NATionalS - name~?

71. Honking birds: GEESE


DOWN:

1. Chocolate substitute: CAROB - Dah~!  I entered COCOA to start

2. Speed skater Ohno: APOLO - knew from doing crosswords - name #6

3. Many a charity tournament: PRO/AM - professional / amateur

4. Go bad: ROT

5. Behind closed doors: IN SECRET - I tried SECRETLY first

6. Puzzle solver's skill: LOGIC - and sussing

7. Former "CNN Newsroom" anchor Barnett: ERROL - my last WAG, and disappointing for me, two proper names crossing - #7

8. Blackjack card: ACE

- and a gratuitous Daniel Craig to boot~!

9. Actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE - I did know name #8 - he appeared in "Lost", and the "Hawaii Five-O" remake; truly dismayed by the number of "remake" shows on TV - now I see "Frazier" is back  :7P

10. URL intro: HTTP

11. Q.E.D. part: ERAT - I just read "Death of a Doxy" ( see 54D. ) - one of the characters uses the alias "Thales" but that did not fool Nero Wolfe - and it made me look the man up on Wiki, and then further to his mathematical proof - and there in the middle of the page, Q.E.D.

12. Travel pillow spot: NAPE - I had NECK to start

13. Raced: SPED

19. Fielding of "The Great British Bake Off": NOEL - name #9

22. Caustic chemical: LYE  - and -  55D. Caustic chemical: ACID - pure clecho

25. Next to: BESIDE - not "B side"

26. "Love Train" group, with "The": O'JAYS - name #10

27. Convention: NORM - a collection of entries by "Norm" from "Cheers"

30. Law school course: ETHICS

31. Midday: NOON

32. Geological spans: EONS

33. Comfy attire that's rarely worn out?: PJs - I have 'worn out' my PJs, when I go to check the mailbox sometimes....

34. Regretted: RUED

35. Abbr. on old phones: OPERator

36. Future soph: FROSH - Sophomore, Freshman

37. Contractor's fig.: ESTimate

39. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE - name #11

41. Red "Sesame Street" resident: ELMO - name #12

42. Lauding: PRAISING

47. Somewhat open: AJAR

48. "Rocky III" actor with a mohawk: MR. T - I pity the fool~!  - name #13

50. Like three Justin Verlander games: NO HIT - no clue, but it sounded baseball - name #14

51. Stadium entries: GATES - or, say, airports....

52. Throw: HEAVE

53. __ and pains: ACHES

54. Boxing legend Archie: MOORE - not familiar with the boxer, but I am currently reading Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe" series, narrated by "Archie Goodwin" - I even bought 43 books from eBay to proudly display on my future office shelves - and name #15

56. Little bit: IOTA

57. Gush: SPEW

58. Church song: HYMN - not quite a "hymn", but it made me think of this

 

Monty Python's Holy Grail

62. Charged particle: ION

63. Transcript fig.: GPA

65. Dead end?: DEE - DeaD, correct on two counts~!

Splynter

* Fear of Bridges and Tunnels